Rafa Benitez: I'd quit if Liverpool FC sold Fernando Torres

17 November 2009 10:43

RAFA BENITEZ has dismissed suggestions he would ever sanction the sale of Fernando Torres to ease Liverpool's debt.

Torres is one of the most-sought after players in the world and Liverpool could realistically expect to command a fee of £100m if they ever put the Spaniard on the market.

The manager, though, has insisted that will never happen and made it clear he would walk away from Anfield rather than see owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr cash in on Torres.

'I'm confident it will never happen - if it did, I'd resign,' he said.

Benitez is unlikely to be involved in the January sales when the transfer window opens and the only movement at Anfield will be that of fringe players being moved out.

His spending has attracted some severe criticism in recent months, given Liverpool's struggles domestically and in the Champions League, but he has been quick defend his record.

'When we have spent big, normally it's been very good business,' he said. ' Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano, Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso. Robbie Keane is a good player but we had to sell him because he was not playing at the level we knew he could play.

'With the fringe players, we needed to take a gamble on Bosmans and one, two million-pound players. Some of these players have not been good enough for us. It is a risk you have to accept when there is not too much money about.'

Had Benitez been allowed to spend between 'one and two million pounds' in January 2008, he would have, in all probability, landed Aaron Ramsey, then of Cardiff now of Arsenal.